Remember I mentioned how incredibly green the grass is around Appenzell from my Hiking High Above Appenzell post? It’s not just a vibrant shade of green, it’s remarkably soft and springy too. So much so that there is a 5 kilometer hiking path actually meant to be enjoyed barefoot! That’s right – barefoot hiking!
This path is called Barfussweg, or the Barefoot Trail, and runs between Gonten and Jakobsbad. We easily found the trail directly behind the Goten train station; it is marked with a green sign with a cartoon of two Appenzellers lounging on the grass. They are, of course, barefoot!
The trail is level and snakes through meadows bursting with wildflowers. Horses at a farm we passed through trotted up to the fence for a few nose pats. We spied cats silently sitting watch, patiently waiting to pounce a field mice. Sheep grazed on the rolling hills, baaing. And of course, cow bells clanged off in the distance.
I actually skipped along a bit, feeling like I was eight years old again running around my backyard in Pennsylvania barefoot. It wasn’t at all a challenging hike but it was a beautiful and peaceful walk!
Laurel says
I love barfuss wegs! I haven’t done the one you did, but have done a couple in Germany. I felt like a kid again as well – so much fun!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Barefoot hiking is apparently the thing to do! We just saw a guy hiking on Delos Island, Greece barefoot on extremely rocky terrain littered with cactus needles. I did go barefoot in Wadi Rum, Jordan too and that was so much fun!